Pneumatic vehicle-tire.



R. W. LINVILLE. PNEUMATIC VEHICLE TIRE. APPLICATION nun JULYE. l9l6.

8 m 1 3 2 W A m aw P tweenithem.

' I arrange areund thisrima series of hemia metre 0F etw e lieee ee Toall whom iii may concern: L i a 1 i Be it knownlthat 1; Renter @WrnrriLIN-7 VILLE, a citlzen otithe iUIlltfidwls llat fis "of rrinericaresiding at @ceanpark; :in the couiity .ofilios Angeles and StateofE-fili: to "11 21, harem entedcertain new and tusetiil liriproiiemeits Lin Pneumatic -Vehiele-hE-ires,

of which the ;-folloiirii1g is :a J specification, reference 1 being hadtherein to the accompariying drawing I Mj intention tires I and has rmits obj ect t the production of a subdivided; reaof which the componentiiini ts shall be .Ireadily l detachable, and

separately sealed but inflated fronila common source or a1r chamber.

1n seekinglto attaiiikmy ,object, 21 have found thatau niformandkcontiriuoustread surbtaceis not essential, for ztwoireasonsl (lo)that in rolling the actual point" of slupport one thetread, thatisitosayithe point i'njcontact with V. the ground, vis shifted so rapidlythat aitruly elastic-tread such .asis furnishedhythet'usualipneumaticrubber tire,

may have 5 its surface broken up vith slight intervals betweensuccessive supporting 'surfaces, ,Withoiit icausi igcinjuries J orindeed. noticeable vibratiohj :and 1(2) ithflt the weightexerted on atireitends to distort and somewhat fiattenithe supporting or Contactportion of: the i tread, so that l if divided elastic :unitsarecmade-reasonably: closely together, they wilLtend to expand laterallyas they are compressed vertically therehy filling; the normaliintersticesl or. intervals be- 111i order to: attain: my ohjectyend withthe foregoing filltlillgslifl mind, ,I provide a cone tinuous airchamber fitted toiia rim of Wheel, and adaptedztoihe filled withjcoitdpressed air through a suitable valve, yi-and spherical elasticcontainers which for con venience I shallidesignate herein es1balls,each of which is independently imflatedor filled with; air-underpressure, through a valve stem whichatthe sametimeiserves to attach Lthe hall: to theurim Joy-i screwing entrees Et m eJ l-W 1 sp'ecijicatijo n of Lettere getent v miles to pneumatic vehicle b0dyingthe inventionand a metal hub, ,oritheilike.

err: i

place are toundii'or a co11veuie11t time and he damage.

repairing t .As add f inane-fracture. These are .;all attained by threelec ion of the tire to .a p actically d11- destrccti leiand terjysimple rim chamber, ill dl treadsurfacelmade .1110 016a large mmber Qfstnda dindependeatibut .cciiperaiting units. jll /ieny expensesiiicidenhtmtlieyirlamk dfe t t of la g cent nuous and homogenee Ions E'rubber tiresl and 1 tubes? are iavoided by this cionstr ction and the ga dditihnalst ref individual valves xajndgstems is more than cmnpensated by thesavig 1 1 material iii-11d 11:1 .Qbjects ,osf my invention, I i

mayment "11 oheapness,simplicity; and case 60 labor in. the lmanufacture and maintenance v i of the ndividedi init type.oftireriheretgfore inico meniusiei e i l l I My inyention is ill ustrated in .the accompanying drawings in which t Figure 11 is .a SideXiQW ipartlyyi i section ii; a pcrtioncf Wheel; fitted with a tire em--1? ig.;2 is a; cross section I on the line Eig- :tacerriet'v of .aiportioni of ia broad )fac'ed ,tr ead employing: several units side 1 byside, each unitIof-l the saine charaeter the tread llltShQWllllnFlg$;;11IlCl2. Referrlng to the drawings and ilearticularlytoFigs. :1and 2, ;1 representsrthezhub I of a LWhQBLiZ the spokesuandthree,thefelly, all. supposed; to be ,of wood and of ordinary construction. Asthe character-of the Wheel i itself, howeir ersforms. 1 10 13 artoqflthe. present struct iqn-ma be 3 invention, this lrirooden c rreplaced-by anyiotlher desired suchha Spokes fl nClfl;111Et2tlllllb,;Qlg sheet metal disks Ifitted around the telly, arid secliredthere to lIlifilly. suitable melllner, ash-for exaijnplehy metal and; ispreferably iorr ed in seqtions joined together means 10f clamping bolts7; passing through; ears l 81 oil the ends of adjacent sections.l'lhemumber ofqsectionsds a r-matter of convenience, and iiiiv ie v' ofthe necessity for makl g th situloe,ashsolutely Gi l" 1 air tight it maybeJmade in plieq length ried completely alQHI Cl the Wheel with fitsehds 1 bolted [together ith 1 interposed pacle ing 9izisisho1wn in Fig.1- Withlthis struction there would ionly be one break in the tube.-aaideconseqtlently only one joint; rte

'holts t (see ,Fig.,2) ,fisa 'metalirimfiawith llllle rsill'ld outer;flanges to receive andl held the; tire tube 6. Tliisttirel tubje ,is,made Qf pack, with reduced. possibility of leakage. As a detail ofconstruction and with particular reference to the packing 9, this may beeither a asket or a Hat rin and in the latter case the two ends of thetube would telescope nto each other, the lnner one being tapered and theouter one being somewhat coned to-receive thetaper, thepacking ring.

. or gasket then being interposed between the tapered end and the seat.As shown in Fig.

2, I have shown the tube G'fiattened in cross section, but this matterof cross section is also one for selection, and in many cases thesection may well be circular, such a shape particula'r'ly adapting thetube to withstand pressure and shocks due to driving over' rough roads.The thickness of the tube walls 1s not-a matter of fixed and determinatemeasurement,for two reasons, first be :cause the walls in practice aresupported by air pressure within the tube, and second because thetensile strength of the metal itself,

proportionately to the strains it must resist,

may be proportionately increased, and its Walls may be expected to offera greater direct resistance to-shocks thanthinner and more flexiblewalls.

This metal tube, which performs the function of an air trunk for theflexible inflated tread units, is fitted with one or more common valvestems 11, which according to usualpractice'may pass through th felly andbe cappedinside the same.

7 Fitted around the outside of the tube v6,

and individually-deriving air pressure therefrom, is a series of treadunits 12, all of which are exactly alike and one of which is shown insection in Fig. 2. The component parts of each unit are an-invertedrubber cup 13, a, base disk 14., a clamping ring 15, an individual valvestem and valve 16, and a compensating seat 17. The disk 14 may be ofbrass or similar metal, orof other materials. 1 The'rubber cup 13 isflanged at 13 and is seated upon the disk 14 to which its flange isclosely held by an overlying flange 15* of the clamping ring 15. Thejoint between thefiange 13 and the upper face of the disk must beairtight and adapted to resist considerable pressure. Moreover, it musthold the air under variable thrust upon and consequent distortion of thecup 13. I therefore purpose interposing a layer of ce- F or largerwheels, or for 'heavy vehicles, the thickness of the metal ment, with orwithout an annular gasket or packing above and below the flange 13, andin order to still further seal the joint, I preferably mold the cup sothat it may have an inner'lip or annular flap indicated at 13 in Fig. 2,which will be forced down against the upper surface of the disk 11 bythe pressure within the cup 13, the pressure on the flap and theconsequent pressure of the (lap against the disk being of courseincreased by any heavy pressure or sudden shock upon the outer surfaceof the cup 13.

The valve stem 16, of brass or other suitable material, carries a headflange 16 on the upper face of the disk 11, and is shaped at 16 to fit apolygonal opening in the disk, so that the parts will turn together inserewing the unit onto the rim. A gasket or packing ring is preferablyinserted beneath the head flange 16 to make a tight joint. The valvestem is threaded through the greater portion of its length down to thelower end, and the threads take into a threaded opening in the outerwall of the. tube 6.

The seat 17 is a disk (or it may be a continuous strip around the entirerim) which has its under surface curved to accommodate itself to thecurved periphery of the rim tube, and its upper surface plane to receiveand evenly support the plane annular surface of the clamping ring 15. Inorder that the entire weight may not come on the edges of this ring, Imay insert an additional gasket 18 of suitable material, preferably moreor less flexible, in the space within the lower edges of the ring, andbetween the disk 14- and the seat 17. This gasket 18 may be of resilientmaterial such as rubber, or it may be fiber or simply a dense packingmaterial. forced into the cavity and compressed when the unit is screweddown into position on the seat.

In order to conveniently screw and unscrew the units 12 to and from therim, I provide means for engaging a tool which are indicated at 15 assmall openings formed in the clamping ring 15, beneath which a roughenedannular surface is formed all around the edge of the disk 11, so that aspanner may be used with points taken through the opening 15" into theroughened surface no matter what the position of the clamping ring 15 onthe disk 11. As an alternative for this arrangement, the clamping ring15 may be made polygonal on its outer surface or otherwise formed totake a wrench or spanner and may be locked to the disk 14 in anysuitable manner, as by means of set screws, after being screwed down tocompress the flange 13 on the cup or bulb l3.

The seat 17 if of resilient material, and especially if individual to aunit, need not be especially shaped, but will shape itself meantthispurpose there maybe employeda built disks, of

up gasket or disk formed of alternate layers of Pcanvasand rubber, withorwitllout face hard fiber .or fmetal to takethe It bede'sired to doawaywith'the coin-- pens'ating seat, flat seats can be formed upon the outersurface of the rim, each seat being concentric with f the threaded valveopening into which the-, screw 16- of the unit'lis screwed. ThefOl'IllltlOliOf such indivdual seats on the tubular riin, however, isexpensive, and in most cases w'ould liave to be avoided.

. It is thought; that the method of asseina bling and l operationj'ot myinvention will be comparatively clear from the foregoing *de' scription,and will befullyunderstood from the following brief statement: Theuing 5being secured in place ont-hefelly, the tube 6, whether in one sectionwith abutting ends or in several sections, is placed uponthe ring 5,with the valve stem- 11 intlie opeir ing through the felly,the packing 9is in serted, and the couplings 7-8 are then set up tightly. lVitli thetelescoping joint heretofore described, the tube may be drawn veryfirmly into contact with the channel rim 5, and thewheel is then readyfor attachment of the tread units. Each unit is completeas shown in Fig.2, and is applied by fitting the compensating seat to the rim tube, theninserting the valve stem l6 through the central opening into thethreaded opening in. the rim tube, and screwing it down untilthe unit isseated firmly and immovablyr The parts then appear fully as seinbled asshown in Fig. 2, and when all the units are in position, the wheel willappear as in Fig. l. H

The operation of this wheel involves successive compressions of theunits 12 as the wheel rolls. The dimensionsand material they will resistrelatively high pressures,

because each unit constituting an entirely separate portion of thetread, thereis no possibility of distributing the air compression, andobtaining theadvantage of balancing expansion through a-continuous bodyof @lflStlCIIlQdlUHl as in the ordinary tire.

However, as against this thereis the enorinous advantage of greatsubdivision of the most vulnerable'part of a tire that is the pressurecontaining body; W th my tire, if one of the units becomes punctured orruptured in any way, it may be removed with'a suitable tool and a fresh,unit invenient stop for making repairs. of the cups or bulbs 13 may besuch that al-1a tom-manly employed with inner tubes .lllj the presentcemmerclart e of rubber tires, "Tlie essentials of such a valve are-thestem, 'tlievalve sea-t formed Withinthe stem,

and smallfspring pressedplungen ling a tl'irea'cl'ed i'lllgwithshoulders termed on itb'y which the stem'can be screwed into thetube until the valveseats. In inflating a tire throughsucli a valve; thelittle "phanger is pushed inso as to lift the Valve from its seat, butassets as the mechanical pres:

sure i-s r'emOvetLth'e air pressure the tube torcestlle valve againstits seat andliolds" it there. The valves in my case-are of this type,and open inwardly but close outwardly withrespect to each unit andaisowith refspe'ct to the tube or truhli: 6. Thus, inflating the.tire,the pump tube is attached to theiinrer end of the stem I 11, and air isforced tlierethrough into the *tubula-rgrim Oflftlllk 6'.) Asthe'pressurerisesintlie tube tured bulb 13, but the valves of all the otherbulbs would automatically seat themselves, if not already seated, andthus retain the pressure in all of the interrupted units. After'such anepisode, if the tube 6 has thin walls, as heretofore mentioned, it would1 6; it opens the valves in all the individual of course be necessary toinflate it in order to prevent colla se of the tube in running,

but if. the wal s of the tube 6 be thick enough to carry the weight ofthe vehicle, one or more ruptured units may be disres garded, and therun continued to some coni In Fig. 3 I have shown a broad faced treadwide enough to i take several units across. The general construction ofthe wheel and the-trunk 6 in this case would be the same as shown inFig. 2,v but the 1 trunk tube 6 would have to be much wider, and insteadof having the threaded openin s to receive the valve. stems 16 centeredal around the tread, they are arrangedon several parallel circles asindicated. The ar rangement of the units on such a broad tread iscapable ofmuch diversification, and as the specific arrangement forms noessential part of the present invention, I consider all arrangementswithin the scope of my appended claim.v The units may be set instaggered rows or in oblique transverse rows, or on wavy lines, or indiamond or square figures, or otherwise as may be found most desirable.

In addition to possible variations in arrangement 0f the tread units,many other non-essential changes and modifications may be made in. thisstructure, without -de parting from the scope and purview of myinvention. I wish it distinctly understood that all such changes andmodifications are contemplated by me as within the scope of the appendedclaim.

scription and in the following claim I make use of the word ,air todesignate the fluid medium under pressure used in the run tube andbulbs. It is to be'understood that this wordineludes any gas or otherelastic fluid medium which may besubstituted for air. .1 Having thusdescribed my invention what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatentis: I it v Acombined rim and tire for vehicles comprising atubular rim fitted to the felly and serving as an air trunk, a valve forsaid air trunk and a plurality of individual pneumatic resilient unitseach comprising the following instrumentalities; an elastic bulb havinga flanged circular base, a rigid disk shaped seat, an annular flangedclamping ring arranged to clamp said bulb on said seat with the flangeof the bulb base between the clamping ring flange and the said seat, acompensating seat for said clamping ring of substantially the samediameter and having its bottom surface arranged to fit the curvai j tureof the rim and its top surface to fit It will be noted that throughoutthis de the lower edge of the clamping ring. a flexible gasket arrangedto fit within the clamping ring between said seats, and a valve tubecommunicating with the interior of said bulb carried by said disk shapedseat and projecting therethrough and through said gasket and saidcompensating seat, said 10 valve tube being threaded into the rim forthe purpose of holding the resilient unit thereon.

, In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT VHITE LINVILLE.

Vitnesses:

MAUI) TROXEL, VVM. J. HANLON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

